1. Field
Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a single gate pixel of an image sensor, architecture of the single gate pixel, and an operation method of the single gate pixel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, portable devices including one or more image sensors such as a digital camera, a mobile communication terminal, and the like have been developed. An image sensor in such a portable device may be configured as an array of pixels or photodiodes referred to as photosites. In general, a pixel may convert a photon of a wide spectrum band into an electron, without directly extracting a color from the light. Accordingly, a pixel of an image sensor is to receive light of only a band, required to obtain a color, from light of a wide spectrum band. A pixel of an image sensor may convert only a photon corresponding to a particular color into an electron by being combined with a color filter.
To obtain a three-dimensional (3D) image using an image sensor, information about a distance between an image sensor and an object as well as information about a color may be required. In general, a depth image may indicate an image reconfigured with respect to a distance between an image sensor and an object in related fields. A depth image may be obtained using infrared (IR) light that is outside the spectrum of light visible to a human.
A method of obtaining information about a distance between an image sensor and an object may be divided into an active method and a passive method. An active method may include a Time Of Flight (TOF) method and a triangulation scheme. In a TOF method, a time taken for an emitted ray to be reflected back from an object may be measured. In a triangulation scheme, a location of light, which is emitted and reflected by a laser, and the like, spaced apart from a sensor by a predetermined distance, may be sensed to measure a distance. A passive method may measure a distance between a sensor and an object using only image information without emitting light, and may be used in a stereo camera.